This document has been incubating for twelve months and been through several drafts before reaching this final stage. Many people have contributed to its making. There were those 60 participants at Pentecost 2012 on the Hebridean island of Iona who had the audacious courage to sign a statement calling on the churches of these islands to respond to the challenge of Kairos Palestine; those who formed a steering group to carry the process forward; the theologians and activists who willingly worked to produce a first draft; those who answered our invitation to spend 24 hours at Hawkstone Hall, Shropshire – representing a wide range of denominational loyalties and theological perspectives - and who with insight and imagination interacted with each other and with the drafts, leading to the intensive work which eventually brought to birth ‘A Time for Action’.

This book contains all the papers presented at the Kairos for Global Justice Encounter held in Bethlehem in December 2011. A sincere expression of appreciation to all local and international authors who have shared so willingly their expertise, experiences, emotions and dreams of a better future for all the oppressed aspiring for a just peace with equity.

This study guide was written by the Middle East Monitoring Group that was mandated by the 219th General Assembly (2010), which included a significant set of actions to be taken by General Assembly entities and officers, as well as the creation of a special “Monitoring Group on Middle East Policy.” The Monitoring Group has worked diligently for months to produce a strong resource that simultaneously provides thoughtful attention to the breadth and depth of con-cerns raised by Palestinian Christians as well as a format that will work well within the adult education program of the average Presbyterian congregation. This study guide represents the fruits of that labor.

This paper seeks to draw attention to the forcible displacement of the Palestinian people and the resulting human impact on the overall population, though with a particular focus on the Christian element. For this purpose, a general overview of the situation will be provided, alongside a series of case studies concerning the personal experiences of Christian families in Bethlehem and Jerusalem. Finally, the paper will present recommendations on the issue at hand. Each case study will seek to explore and explain a key issue, with each supported by powerful testimony from members of the Palestinian Christian population. These testimonies are drawn from extensive interviews conducted between August-October 2012 by Kairos Palestine and BADIL Resource Center for Palestinian Residency Rights and Refugee Rights. The names of the individuals who provided these testimonies have been changed, as in each case the participant fears that their involvement in this project may draw negative reprisals on behalf of the Israeli authorities. We thank each one for their courage.

These guidelines were developed in 2010 at a consultative meeting in Geneva to promote justice tourism for pilgrims to Palestine-Israel. Representing 14 countries, a group of 27 theologians, Palestinian Christian activists and professionals in the tourism industry called on Christian pilgrims to live their faith as they visit the Holy Land going beyond homage of ancient sites to show concern for the Palestinian people living there whose lives are severely constricted by the Israeli occupation of their lands. The meeting was organized by Alternative Tourism Group (ATG) in cooperation with the Ecumenical Coalition on Tourism (ECOT ), Kairos Palestine and the World Council of Churches (WCC) through its initiative the Palestine-Israel Ecumenical Forum (PIEF). ATG is a Palestinian NGO specializing in tours and pilgrimages that incorporate critical examinations of the Holy Land’s history, culture and politics.

September 28, 2013Acknowledging the signs of the times is a gift of the prophets. Prophets, however, do not create with words or gestures the events that take place in history. There are times in which we expect the rising of signs to show us the imminence of God’s action in the world. This propitious time, a moment of truth, a time in which something meaningful happens is called in the Biblical tradition kairós. Palestinian sisters and brothers recognized in their context of rights violation, expropriation of land and apartheid a very specific kairós, in which God calls human beings to take a stand. It’s a new time in which God requires action, time of conversion.

This document has been incubating for twelve months and been through several drafts before reaching this final stage. Many people have contributed to its making. There were those 60 participants at Pentecost 2012 on the Hebridean island of Iona who had the audacious courage to sign a statement calling on the churches of these islands to respond to the challenge of Kairos Palestine; those who formed a steering group to carry the process forward; the theologians and activists who willingly worked to produce a first draft; those who answered our invitation to spend 24 hours at Hawkstone Hall, Shropshire – representing a wide range of denominational loyalties and theological perspectives - and who with insight and imagination interacted with each other and with the drafts, leading to the intensive work which eventually brought to birth ‘A Time for Action’.